Unsure of Reality
by Noelle Andrews
Summary: Harry finds himself in a strange place called Intermeddius and can't remember anything at all. He's told that he's been there forever, but life never is that simple for him, is it?
1. Default Chapter

**Unsure of Reality  
**  
Harry looked around him curiously, still in quite a state of shock and fright. Where was he?  
  
He heard voices; voices whispering, voices muttering, voices talking as if about to tell a joke. If he strained his ears, he could hear a woman's voice far away... a woman's voice screaming.  
  
Around him was a sort-of field. The grass was trampled on by what seemed to be hooves. Everything was dry and flat.  
  
There was something strange about all this. He couldn't put his finger on it... And then it hit him. It was glaringly obvious, really: everything was in black and white. Not a speck of color to be seen. Now absolutely and completely mystified, he lifted his hands and inspected them carefully. They too were colorless.  
  
The voices were slightly familiar, as if Harry had once heard them in a dream a long time ago. He racked his brain, trying to remember, until his head hurt.  
  
He was the only one there, in that strange, strange place. The field had an aura of death. Harry felt like he was standing in a battlefield where a bloody war took place and unfortunate soldiers were far below.  
  
"Oi! You!" A voice called. It sounded so foreign, for Harry was starting to feel like he had been in this field his whole life, in the silence that accompanied the ominous air. But now that he thought about it, that voice was familiar, all too familiar.  
  
_No, it can't be_... Harry thought, finally recognizing it. Slowly he turned, anxious to see who would be standing there. _It can't be_, he thought once again, he's gone. _I must be dreaming... imagining it all...  
_  
Harry closed his eyes for a second, and then slowly opened them to see if the owner of the voice was who he presumed it to be.  
  
Not too far was a black horse that carried itself in a regal way. Harry stared at the hooves, gathered his courage, and slowly lifted his eyes up to the rider. He gave a sharp intake of breath when he caught sight of him.  
  
Sitting atop the horse was a man whose muscles acted as a sign telling all not to mess with the owner. His face was framed by black hair that hung loosely and sitting on his head was what seemed to be a braided crown using pure golden thread.  
  
_This man is Sirius Black_.  
  
"S-Sirius?" Harry stuttered.  
  
The man who Harry supposed was Sirius responded with a slightly confused look, "Yes, I was completely serious when I called out for you."  
  
Now Harry looked confused. "You're... not Sirius Black?"  
  
The man looked down at Harry with a slightly worried face. "You alright there, boy? I'm beginning to think you must have had a bit too much to drink."  
  
"No, I don't even drink, I'm only sixteen. And are you positive that you're not Sirius Black?"  
  
"You're sixteen? Sixteen flots high? Sixteen tigs? Sixteen what, my boy? And do you not know your own king?"  
  
Now Harry was completely and totally lost. _Flots? Tigs? King?_ Harry was almost positive before that this man was Sirius Black. But now his certainty was swaying.  
  
"Who are you?" Harry asked, sounding rather rude.  
  
The man chuckled and muttered, "Don't drink, sure, that's what they all say," before answering proudly, "I am Reggalis Levon, king of Intermeddius."  
  
"Intermeddius?" Harry asked, "What continent is that in?"  
  
"You speaking in code?" The Reggalis person asked, giving Harry an odd look.  
  
Harry didn't answer, but instead violently shook his head to see if the man was simply a mirage and would go away if he cleared his vision. But to no avail, Reggalis still stood before him.  
  
"Uh... Siri- I mean, Reggalis, King Reggalis. Do you, by chance, know how I, er, got here?"  
  
Reggalis laughed, "Much too much to drink. Boy, you've always been here."  
  
This last statement left Harry staring at Reggalis as if he had just nonchalantly pointed out that it was snowing chocolate chips on mars.  
  
But then Harry thought. He didn't remember anything that happened before he was there, standing on that field, yet something told him that he didn't belong here and belonged somewhere else; like when one begins to dream at night. He remembered some things: a name, a face bordered by flaming red hair, and of course, a man named Sirius Black, which for some reason he had thought Reggalis to be only moments before.  
  
But these things were quickly slipping from his mind and it started to seem more and more likely that he had indeed been here all his life. Perhaps he had woken up to a dream or it was all in a story he had made up in his head.  
  
_Or maybe this is a dream_, Harry thought, _and reality is quickly slipping away_.

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A/N: And so there we go! This story is very odd and the ending of this chapter is very odd. It was inspired by a message in my bulk e-mail that said they were having a writing contest at and showed a picture.... And well, just know that in the end, this story was born. There will probably only be three or four chapters in this story, because I'm almost positive about what will be in each.  
  
Reviewers of any of my other stories, don't lose faith in me, I WILL update! I just got the idea for this story, and, well, I just HAD to write it.  
  
Well, go and review! 


	2. chapter 2

**UNSURE OF REALITY**

Harry was walking alongside Reggalis and his horse. There was a silence in the air that bothered Harry, but Reggalis didn't seem to notice.

"So, um...," Harry began, unsure of what to say, "How long have you been King?"

Reggalis chuckled and said simply, "Forever." Harry looked at him disbelievingly.

"Um, please excuse me if I sound rude, but what's your age?"

Reggalis quirked an eyebrow at Harry. "Age? What's that, my boy? Exactly how much did you drink? First you don't recognize your very own King, then you speak of some continent, and now you're asking what my age is. Whatever that is... Why don't you explain to me what this age is."

Harry gave Reggalis an odd look. "Well, age is how old you are. You know, how long you've been around."

Reggalis chuckled again. "Well, my boy, I've been around-"

"Lemme guess," Harry cut in, "forever?"

Reggalis nodded happily and answered, "Yep."

There was another silence while Harry tried to sort out his thoughts and failed miserably while Reggalis hummed a tune. Well, he wasn't really humming a tune, just a bunch of jumbled up notes. Harry glanced at King Reggalis Levon just happily bouncing along, humming to himself. It seemed that he didn't have a care in the world... and he didn't. All he knew of was the routine of life in Intermeddius, the way it's been (you guessed it) forever.

"What's your name, my boy?" Reggalis had asked.

"Huh?" Harry mumbled, so lost in thought that he hadn't heard the King.

"Your _name_. What's your name? Can't keep calling you 'my boy' for _eternity_, can I?" Harry smiled slightly at Reggalis' use of "eternity".

"My name's Har-... Har-...," Just then Harry realized that he couldn't remember his own name! _How can I not remember? This is insane!_ Harry thought hard. "Is it Harvey? No. Harold? No, that's not it either."

"Hershey, Hartley, Hansle?" Reggalis supplied, "Harry, Hermione, Har-"

"That's it!" Harry said suddenly, "That's my name!"

"Hermione?" Reggalis asked, quirking his eyebrow once again, "I was just naming names off the top of my head. Isn't Hermione a girl's name?"

"No," Harry said, almost laughing, "My name's Harry."

"Ah," Reggalis said with a smile, "Good strong name, it is. I believe Harry means 'ruler of the home'."

Harry didn't have a reply, so they were once again in silence. Well, almost, Reggalis was humming to himself again, but Harry barely noticed, for he had slipped back into his world of thoughts. _Hermione, Hermione... Where have I heard that name before? _

Reggalis's cheerful humming and Harry's disturbed thoughts were cut short when they came to the gates of a town. Reggalis smiled at the guards who bowed in reply before turning to open the gate.

"Let's go to Gillian's for a drink," Reggalis stopped to chuckle, "But no alcohol for you, Harry. Stick to gimmet for now."

Harry looked up at Reggalis, confused, "Gimmet?"

But Reggalis didn't hear him over the screeching of the opening gates. As Harry saw what lie behind them, all questions of gimmet went to the back of his mind. The town amazed him. Everything was perfect, too perfect. The houses looked exactly alike, all painted white with red tiled roofs; everyone dressed alike, the women wearing long brown skirts with a white blouse tucked in neatly, and the men wearing jeans and a blouse very much like the women's; even the clouds in the sky looked alike. Harry had never seen something so... orderly.

"Are all the towns here... like this one?" Harry asked Reggalis, his eyes still on the town.

"Pretty much," the King answered. But then he paused before leaning in and adding in a quiet voice, "Except for a faraway place we call Verustine. Completely abandoned. It's west of here, but I advise that you don't go there, Harry. Most people that do never come back." Reggalis then unbent himself and smiled and waved at bowing people, as if he had said nothing.

* * *

The two found themselves in a sort of shopping center. Of course, the shops were uniform, white paint, red tiles, but each had a sign above the door. Harry saw many shops selling brown skirts, jeans, and white blouses. The clothes stores never sold anything else. All restaurants were standardized as well; they all sold rop, trad, fidaline, glik, and gimmet, all of which Harry had no idea was.

Reggalis stopped his horse in front of a restaurant with a wooden sign that read: GILLIAN'S. Underneath in slightly smaller letters was added: Best fidaline, glik, and gimmet in the land

Ever so gracefully, Reggalis slid off his horse and in one swift motion tied the reigns to a pole. He did these things as if he'd practiced until perfection or had done the task a thousand times, which he probably had. There was quite a contrast between the poised King and Harry, who stumbled and fell over a rather large rock near the pole Reggalis's horse had been tied to. Reggalis smiled and helped him up before turning and leading the way into the restaurant.

The two pushed their way through the wood doors and were greeted by a bowing man.

"Why, hello, Your Majesty. Would you like your usual table? And what would you like today, perhaps some fidaline?"

"Yes, Jamie, we'll take that table. But no alcohol today, me and Harry, here, will both have a mug o' gimmet," Reggalis replied. Jamie nodded and walked off, bowing more. Reggalis chuckled his little chuckle again.

"Come, Harry," Reggalis commanded with a wave of his hand. Harry followed him to a flight of stairs which they headed up. Upstairs were more people and tables to weave through until finally they reached a table by the window where they both sat. After a minute or so, Jamie showed up with the gimmet.

"Cheers," Reggalis said, lifting his mug, before downing most of it. Harry observed the liquid in the mug. It smelt of pickles and he could feel it was warm. He was hesitant to drink the stuff, and the fact that it was a shimmery green didn't exactly help, either. Tentatively, he took a sip and let the gimmet sit on his tongue. The drink was very odd; at first it tasted salty, then very sour, and finally sweet, but not too sweet. Harry smiled his first real smile since he entered Intermeddius and took another sip.

"Hello, James, and hello, Flora," Harry heard Reggalis say. He looked up and saw two people, a woman and a man, standing before them. One of them had jet black hair that was quite messy, like Harry's own. The man looked very much like Harry, except for his eyes, which were hazel. The woman next to him had flaming red hair and porcelain skin, but the most prominent thing about her was her bright green eyes. They were the same bright green eyes behind Harry's round glasses. The three people were aware of these similarities and were very much confused.

"I... I think I must know you from somewhere," the woman Reggalis called Flora said to Harry.

"Yes," Harry replied, "I believe I know both of you from somewhere. What were your names again?"

"I'm James," said the man. "And I'm Flora," added the woman.

_James,_ Harry thought, _Now that sounds awfully familiar. I don't know a Flora, But James... That name is way too familiar. I think I could even swear-_

"That's it," Harry said suddenly. He felt quite stupid doing so, but couldn't help it. "James is my middle name, now I remember. Oh, I'm Harry, by the way. Harry James... Something."

James chuckled. "Well, hello, Harry James Something, delighted to make your acquaintance."

"This here James is my right hand man, and Flora is his missus. James and Flora are leaving for Verustine tomorrow because they're bloody thick," Reggalis put in.

"No matter what you say, Reggalis, I'm still going to Verustine," James said. You could tell that he meant it.

"That goes for me, too," Flora interjected.

"Can I come?" Harry asked. The question surprised even him. He wasn't sure what it was that made him do it, but he just felt that he had to go to this Verustine.

"You know, you're all bloody thick," Reggalis commented before tapping on the table and calling for a waiter.

"Well, can I?" Harry asked, ignoring Reggalis's remark.

James shrugged. "Fine by me."

"You can stay at our place," Flora offered. Harry nodded, downed the last of his gimmet, and handed the empty mug to the waiter.

James faced Flora and Harry.

"Tomorrow we leave for Verustine, the abandoned city."

* * *

A/N: Whoa, totally and completely hate how this chapter is written and its... shortness. Well, maybe I'll re-write it someday when I have the time. I know that right now this story's a little predictable, but I'll try to change that. Well, review and tell me what you think!


End file.
